anyone mathy here able to explain why people say it's wrong to think of df(x)/dx as a literal ratio of infinitesimal quantities?
-F

@CoronaCoreanici @starkatt @Felthry Honestly, squaring to get -1 is a lot /easier/ for us, with the 2D thing and multiplying-by-i-as-rotation. :3

@CoronaCoreanici @IceWolf @starkatt also I feel like 0.9999... would still be equal to 1 even if infinitesimals exist? Because you can't write an infinitesimal out like that, 1-ε is not the same as 0.9999..., right?
-F

Follow

@CoronaCoreanici @IceWolf @starkatt I guess all of this is an engineer's intuition more than a mathematician's rigor but I feel like our intuition could be made rigorous in a way that allows one to think of dx and dt and stuff as real infinitesimals that you can do math to
-F

Sign in to participate in the conversation
Awoo Space

Awoo.space is a Mastodon instance where members can rely on a team of moderators to help resolve conflict, and limits federation with other instances using a specific access list to minimize abuse.

While mature content is allowed here, we strongly believe in being able to choose to engage with content on your own terms, so please make sure to put mature and potentially sensitive content behind the CW feature with enough description that people know what it's about.

Before signing up, please read our community guidelines. While it's a very broad swath of topics it covers, please do your best! We believe that as long as you're putting forth genuine effort to limit harm you might cause – even if you haven't read the document – you'll be okay!